LIMA – Ottawa Glandorf’s frantic defense forced 26 Shawnee turnovers on Thursday evening at Lappin Gymnasium on their way to their ninth straight victory over the Indians 58-42 in a Western Buckeye League clash.
While neither team located the bottom of the net in the opening minutes it was the hosts who jumped into the scoring column first thanks to freshman guard Zoe Best who would go on to score the first two Shawnee baskets.
After an Erin Kaufman basket tied the contest at 2-2 with 6:11 remaining in the opening period the Titans jumped out to a 4-2 advantage on a Myka Aldrich score and extended their lead to 8-4 on makes from Chloee Glenn and Kelsey Erford.
Shawnee’s Hailee Conrad cut the OG lead to 8-6 with :41 before the first period buzzer but was unable to stop the Titans on the offensive end as they scored a five point run that ended with an Aldrich put back at the quarter break for a 13-6 advantage.
In the second quarter the Titans held the host Indians scoreless from the Conrad basket in the first until another effort from the junior with 4:21 before the break that trimmed the OG lead to 21-8. Ottawa Glandorf amassed their 32-13 lead going into the halftime stoppage with baskets inside by Glenn and both Erin and Katie Kaufman, but added a three point goal from Ella Okuley and a trio of fast break scores by senior captain Kelsey Erford.
The Indians third quarter scoring came again from Conrad and teammate Kelly Cooper who combined to hit four of their eight shots from the free throw line while each adding a two point basket during a 17-10 Titan run.
Lily Haselman, a 5’3 sophomore guard known for her defense on opposing teams primary ballhandlers took over on the offensive side of the ledger for the Titans in third quarter as she connected on back to back triples from the corner and a fast break basket on her way to an eight point quarter that tied her career high single game total.
Before checking out of the contest for their younger teammates the Ottawa Glandorf post duo of Glenn and Erin Kaufman each tossed across baskets to help push the visitors lead to 49-23 heading into the fourth quarter.
A 19 point final eight minutes pulled the Indians closer on the final scoreboard with Zoe Best accounting for four markers and senior guard Emily Skinner hitting twice from deep on her way to nine in the stanza. OG’s scoring ended with a three pointer by Erford and a trio of makes by Aldrich and both Kaufmans to finish off the 58-42 victory.
“I thought our starting five played pretty well defensively and took good shots on offense. It was nice to see a couple of girls hit some 3’s. I thought Lily did an excellent job in keeping their point guard from getting their transition game started, and once again I was happy to see Myka play well” said OG boss Troy Yant following the win.
Shawnee (9-6, 3-3) was led in scoring by Hailee Conrad’s 11 points. Next up for the Indians is a trip to the Palace at Coldwater on Saturday afternoon for a non-league affair with the Cavaliers.
For the eighth time this season Chloee Glenn led the Titans (16-2, 6-1) in scoring with a 13 point effort while being joined in scoring by Kelsey Erford’s 15th double figure output of 11.
Saturday afternoon at 12:30 P.M. the Titans are back in action as they host Liberty Benton in a game that will be broadcast live on WZOQ Radio.
Scoring:
OG (58):
Kelsey Erford 11
Lily Haselman 8
Ella Okuley 6
Myka Aldrich 8
Erin Kaufman 8
Katie Kaufman 4
Chloee Glenn 13
FT: 5/9
3PT: 4 (Haselman 2, Erford, Okuley)
TO: 20
Shawnee (42):
Zoe Best 8
Hailee Conrad 11
Zoe Smith 2
Grace Freiberger 4
Tessa Stahler 3
Emily Skinner 9
Kelly Cooper 5
FT: 7/12
3PT: 3 (Skinner 2, Stahler)
TO: 26
JV: OG 51-23 (Ashlyn Siefker 13 pts)